Will Smith Hits Chris Rock At The 2022 Oscars For Joking About Jada Pinkett Smith's Hair

The Oscars have had their memorable moments over the years. A few years ago, the wrong movie was announced as Best Picture. And this year, there was a rollercoaster of emotions that we witnessed as Chris Rock hosted the 94th Academy Awards. 

Will Smith violently confronted Rock after the comic made a joke about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith's hair. Rock joked about actors Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem being nominated for the Best Actress and Actor awards respectively and then directed his attention to the Smiths. He joked about Pinkett, in reference to her bald head, saying "Jada I love you...G.I Jane 2 can't wait to see it." This did not sit well with Smith.

Smith then, unexpectedly, walked up on stage and slapped Rock. He walked back and shouted: "Keep my wife's name out of your f***ing mouth." Rock said, "Wow, Will Smith just smacked the s*** out of me," before carrying on with the presentation of the next category after facing the consequence of his ill-advised joke. Pinkett Smith recently opened up about her hair loss, attributing it to alopecia, an autoimmune disorder that causes sudden hair loss that starts with one or more circular bald patches that may overlap by attacking hair follicles. She even shared a video, learning to embrace her new look. 

It has been a long journey of self-acceptance for Pinkett Smith who had previously shared that she was terrified of losing all her hair. "It was one of those times in my life where I was literally shaking in fear. That’s why I cut my hair, and why I continue to cut it,” she had shared on her Facebook Watch show Red Table Talk in 2018. She had initially taken to covering her head with a head wrap before coming to terms with publicly embracing her bare scalp. Smith's reaction seems to have stemmed from recognizing his wife's struggle over the years.

A few minutes after this altercation, Smith won his first-ever Oscar for his role in King Richard and used the opportunity to address what had just happened. "I want to apologize to the Academy," Smith said. "I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees. This is a beautiful moment and I'm not crying for winning an award. It's not about winning an award for me. It's about being able to shine a light on all of the people. Tim and Trevor and Zack and Saniyya and Demi and Aunjanue and the entire cast and crew of King Richard, Venus, and Serena, the entire Williams family. Art imitates life. I look like the crazy father, just like they said about Richard Williams."

As for the onstage assault by Smith on live television, Rock has decided not to press charges. As per Variety, the Los Angeles Police Department released a statement regarding the matter: "LAPD investigative entities are aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards program. The incident involved one individual slapping another. The individual involved has declined to file a police report. If the involved party desires a police report at a later date, LAPD will be available to complete an investigative report."